Eric Roussell

Eric Alwyn Roussell QSO (1 October 1911 – 19 August 1977) was the tenth Clerk of the New Zealand House of Representatives ("Clerk of the House"). As Clerk of the House he was head of the Legislative Department, responsible for administrative services to Parliament prior to the creation of the Parliamentary Service in 1985 and the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives in 1988.[1]

Eric Roussell
QSO
Taken March 1971
Taken March 1971
10th Clerk of the New Zealand House of Representatives
In office
2 April 1971 – 5 January 1976
Preceded byHenry Nelson Dollimore
Succeeded byCharles Philip Littlejohn
Clerk-Assistant
In office
1 March 1947 – 1 April 1971
Preceded byHenry Nelson Dollimore
Succeeded byCharles Philip Littlejohn
Employment Officer (PSC Office)
In office
1 July 1946 – 28 February 1947
Personal details
Born
Eric Alwyn Roussell

(1911-10-01)1 October 1911
Auckland, New Zealand
Died19 August 1977(1977-08-19) (aged 65)
AwardsCompanion of the Queen's Service Order (1976)

Roussell, son of the Philip George Roussell, General manager of the New Zealand Railways Department,[2] was educated at Wellington College (New Zealand).[3] He began his career in the public service when he was appointed as a Clerical Cadet with the Audit Department in Wellington on 21 January 1929. He transferred to the Head Office of the Public Trust on 3 October 1929.[4] While working at Public Trust he completed a Bachelor of Laws degree at Victoria University of Wellington, graduating in 1936 (together with his predecessor Henry Nelson Dollimore).[5]

From 1942 to 1945 he served in the Pacific as a Flight-Lieutenant with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War. During this service he worked as an Intelligence Officer and was mentioned in dispatches.[6]

After Roussell completed three year's service with the RNZAF he was, on 14 September 1945, appointed as Officer in Charge of the Education Section of the Rehabilitation Department.[7] On 1 July 1946 he was appointed as an Employment Officer with the Office of the Public Service Commissioner.[8]

He began working at the New Zealand Parliament on 1 March 1947 when, at 35 years of age, he was appointed as Clerk-Assistant within the Legislative Department, a position he held for 24 years.[9] He became Clerk of the House on 2 April 1971 following the retirement of Henry Nelson Dollimore.[10]

After almost five years as Clerk of the House, Roussell retired at 64 years of age on 5 January 1976.[11]

In the 1976 New Year Honours, Roussell was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services.[12]

Roussell died on 19 August 1977 at 65 years of age.[13]

References
  1. 'Newly appointed Clerk of the House has qualifications and sport ability as well', Evening Post, 23 March 1971
  2. Obituary The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 7, Issue 7, 1 December 1932
  3. Who's Who in New Zealand, 11th Edition, 1978
  4. Personnel File R1222978, Archives New Zealand
  5. Victoria University Graduates 1936
  6. Evening Post, 11 July 1945, page 9
  7. The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939-1945
  8. File R14988695, Archives New Zealand
  9. Notice of appointment, NZ Gazette, No 10, 27 February 1947, page 266
  10. Notice of appointment, NZ Gazette, No 22, 25 March 1971, page 526
  11. 'Clerk of the House no simple secretarial job', Evening Post, 23 October 1975
  12. "No. 46778". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 30 December 1975. p. 36.
  13. Evening Post, 19 August 1977
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